We also have to do final testing of the life/safety system with the State Fire Marshall, so all buildings will be subject to periodic ringing on the dates and times listed below. If there is a lull in the alarm for more than half an hour, an announcement will be made to remind everyone that we are testing. There is no need to evacuate during the testing. Testing is scheduled:

Saturday, July 23, 7:00am–3:00pm

Wednesday and Thursday, July 27 and 28, 6:00am–9:00am

Friday, July 29, 10:00am–12:00 noon

Parking lane closuresThe west side of Oakland Street and south side of Monroe Street near South Hall will be closed on Friday and Saturday, July 29 and 30.

—Michele Frasier Wing, '98, Director of Finance and Planning

June 22, 2011

They look so charming, but they really are a problem… On Friday, June 24, we will have grounds workers removing vines from the east side of Legal Research. The Monroe Street entrance to Legal Research will be closed 7am–3pm to complete the work.

Final alarm testing???We will be testing the fire alarms in Hutchins and Legal Research on Thursday, July 7, and Friday, July 8. The alarms will sound periodically 7–9am. After 9am, the alarms will sound only in Aikens Commons, and those tests will go until 3pm. There is no need to evacuate. We will have one more ring test at the end of July, and will let you know when we have more details about it. We hope that will end our alarm testing, and the system will be up and running.

This one is a good news/bad news item. The good news is that Monroe Street will be opened again on July 15, just in time for Art Fair. The bad news is that Monroe Street will be opened again.

And finally, you’ve probably received information about the Smoke Free University initiative. This is a reminder that the campus will go smoke-free on July 1. That includes all campus property, inside or out, sidewalks, stairs, etc. Click here for more information.

—Michele Frasier Wing, '98, Director of Finance and Planning

Hickory, dickory, dock…Raise your hand if you knew that there is a clock on the tower of Legal Research. So, it turns out that it hasn't worked for over 20 years. But this is just the sort of challenge our intrepid building director, Lois Harden, loves. With a wave of her magic wand (and calling in a few favors), she has been able to get the clock restored. It is now keeping time in synch with other campus clock towers and will soon have all the ivy around it removed so that we can better see the face, and the ivy won't interfere with clock movement. Hurray Lois!

Shutdowns, noise, etc.Water will be shut down on Friday, May 20, in all of Legal Research (except for the Smith Library) from 7am to 3:30pm. All restrooms will be closed, the snack bar will be closed, and the Tea Room will have no water (and therefore no tea, or coffee). Please feel free to come visit us in B38 to get your caffeine fix and say hello!

I know there have been a lot of alarms lately–they have all been for very good (and not test) reasons. This Friday, May 20, we will have a test of the system at 2pm to make sure that our new smoke detectors in the Reading Room are working. There will be an announcement in advance of the alarm, and you do not need to evacuate.

The double doors on room 236 Hutchins Hall have been removed for repair, and the doorway has been boarded closed. The room can still be used, but only to a maximum capacity of 25 (for fire exiting purposes).

The loading dock will be back in place and back in service on Monday, May 23.

—Michele Frasier Wing, '98, Director of Finance and Planning

May 9, 2011

And the walls come tumblin' down...Part 2!For the next two days, in order to minimize the amount of dust spread through the building as a result of removing the temporary wall on the first floor of Hutchins, the contractors will be blocking the area with plastic. You will not be able to walk through that area of Hutchins while work is going on—detour signs will be posted. The Monroe Street entrance will also be closed off from 9am–5pm, to help facilitate the wall removal. Everything will re-open on Thursday, May 12, and you will be able to see the new beautiful entrances to Aikens Commons.

Major electrical shutdown reminderFrom 7:00 am Saturday, May 14, until 10:00 am Sunday, May 15, Hutchins and Legal Research will be closed to everyone except contractors. Electricity to nearly the entire quad will be shut down for high-voltage work. Fire and Life/Safety regulations prohibit us from having any occupants in the building during the time this work is being done. Please plan ahead and take anything you will need from your office before Saturday morning.

—Michele Frasier Wing, '98, Director of Finance and Planning

May 5, 2011

Hold on to your hats, folks. As soon as the semester is over, we are moving full-speed ahead into the final stages of our construction. We have many, many closures and utility shutdowns that we've been holding off on, waiting for summer, and here we are. Please be sure to make note of the dates and times below. Construction is everywhere, and the countdown to opening begins…

The steam to Hutchins and Legal Research will be shut off for the season on Friday, May 6. Once we shut it off, we cannot turn it back on. Please make sure you check your windows before you leave for the day; night temps are still low, and we will be unable to heat the space.

And the walls come tumblin' down!The temporary construction walls located on the first floor of Hutchins and Legal Research, and in Room 100, will be removed starting Monday, May 9. The construction site for Aikens Commons will still be a secured site and not open to the public, but you should be able to peek through the windows!

Major electrical shutdown on May 14Electricity for our entire neighborhood will be taken offline in order to connect our new buildings to our new electrical substation. The shutdown will involve most of the Law Quad, including the Lawyers Club, and Martha Cook. Legal Research and Hutchins will be closed from 7:00 am Saturday, May 14, until 10:00 am Sunday, May 15. This shutdown will not affect the Smith library, which will maintain regular hours; however, the only entrance to the library will be from Monroe Street. Life/safety regulations prohibit us from allowing anyone to enter Legal Research or Hutchins Hall during this time period. Please plan ahead if there are materials you will need from your office on that day.

Fire/Life SafetyOn May 14, scaffolding will be set up on the eastern end of the Reading Room to finish work on the fire alarm system. Offices in the Reading Room will still be accessible.

Additional smoke detectors will be installed throughout the Stacks the week of May 16.

WindowsStarting on May 16, contractors will begin work on windows on the 7th, 8th, 9th, and 10th floors of the Stacks. If you are absolutely unable to accommodate the contractors at the time they arrive at your office, please let them know when they can come back to do the work. It should take about a week to complete all the floors.

Loading DockThe loading dock will be taken out of commission from May 9 to May 20. All deliveries will have to be offloaded at the Monroe Street ramp to the Reading Room. If you know that you will have deliveries, please contact Dan Montalvo to make arrangements.

The emergency stairwell leading to the loading dock vestibule will be closed, except for emergency egress, and a temporary emergency stairwell will be built over the retaining wall. DO NOT use this temporary stairwell to enter the building; it is for emergency purposes only.

Road WorkBeginning May 9, roads surrounding South Hall will be torn up for installation of a new water main. For the duration of the work, Oakland and Monroe will be one-way, and some meters on the north side of Monroe will be taken out of service. The streets and adjacent sidewalk will reopen on July 19. Please see the attached map (PDF) for reference.

Reading Room RenovationThe Reading Room distribution office will be under construction for approximately two weeks beginning May 6, in preparation for a new cooling system. The staff will be temporarily relocated to the front-desk area in the Reading Room.

Ramp ClosureThe terrazzo flooring on the ramp between Legal Research and Hutchins Hall is being restored, and will not be accessible for approximately two weeks beginning May 9. The area will be cordoned off and only available for emergencies.

Sidewalk ClosureThe sidewalk between the P-section of the Lawyers Club and Tappan St. will be blocked off for a Lorch Hall water line project. There will likely be some noise from the sidewalk removal and coring for the connection in the sub2 library machine room.

Faculty LoungeThe thermostat in the Faculty Lounge will be relocated beginning May 9 and will take up to a week. There will be cooling in the Faculty Lounge by June 1! In addition, the corridor between the Faculty lounge and the bridge will be blocked off for work related to the skylight. The back entrance to lounge will be closed beginning May 6. This work involves opening up the walls so it will be noisy.

Whew…you made it to the end of the list. Much going on, but we're getting there…—Michele Frasier Wing, '98, Director of Finance and Planning

April 8, 2011

Moving right along…

I haven't written updates about what is going on inside the construction sites recently, in large part because it is hard to say anything that doesn't start with "I wish you could see…" And then some of it is only exciting to those of us up to our knees in construction (the cooling tower for the HVAC system is completed…hooray!!...see, it doesn't really sell itself). But I can give you a bit of an update on where we are at this moment.

In South Hall, they are continuing to install wood paneling, the walls are painted, many ceiling lights and ceilings are in, and carpet will be installed in some rooms in the very near future. They've installed the domed ceiling inside the tower (really cool), and much of the built-in cabinetry has gone in. Bathrooms are nearly complete, and our shiny, fancy water fountains installed.

In Aikens Commons, lights are being installed in the glass roof, tile in the café has gone in (gorgeous!), and the glass railing that runs the perimeter of the upper level has been installed.

There is still a way to go, but it is all really taking shape on the inside. You'll also see that there are still roofers and masons working to complete the outside. Stay tuned for new pictures on this website.

Important Announcement

On Saturday, April 9, the scaffolding surrounding the south and east sides of the stacks building will be removed. This may mean there will be periods of time that the Monroe Street entrance to the Reading Room will be closed.

The Tea Room cooling system will be operational by the end of the week.

—Michele Frasier Wing, '98, Director of Finance and Planning

April 4, 2011

ADDENDUMConstruction on the single-user, gender-neutral restrooms (which will be just outside Aikens Commons) was supposed to have happened on April 1. The contractors, however, are having problems with their proposed method of saw-cutting. They have rescheduled this work to Wednesday, April 6, which means that the Reading Room and the Tea Room will be noisy for a good part of the day on Wednesday.—Michele Frasier Wing, '98, Director of Finance and Planning